The Los Angeles Lakers used the No. 17 and No. 40 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft to bolster their wing rotation. How do the experts grade their performance?
The Los Angeles Lakers were expected to consider several potential options ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft, but in lieu of worthwhile trade offers the team ultimately kept the No. 17 pick and selected Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino. With the No. 40 pick in the second round, Pepperdine's Maxwell Lewis also found himself tethered to the Purple and Gold.
Just on a conceptual level, the Lakers invite controversy. They're the Lakers — everybody loves them, except for those that hate them. They dominate the national conversation to an absurd degree and there's a giant, blinding spotlight tied to LeBron James.
That means Hood-Schifino and Lewis will face elevated pressure to perform. The Lakers were four wins from the NBA Finals last season. If James returns for what is possibly his last rodeo, the onus will be on everyone to step up and deliver winning results.
So, are Hood-Schifino and Lewis up to the challenge? Here's what the experts had to say.
2023 NBA Draft Grades: Experts grade Lakers' picks of Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis
Jalen Hood-Schifino: B
"Hood-Schifino aces the eye test as a big, physical playmaker, and his feel for the game might be even more impressive than his raw gifts. He can manipulate defenses, which makes him excellent in ball-screen situations. He competes on defense and maintains his focus away from the ball."
Maxwell Lewis: B+
"Lewis' highlights and measurements look great, and if they all translate to the NBA, he could have a lengthy career. He has size, length and a variety of shot-making moves. When committed on defense, he can cycle through multiple assignments."
Jalen Hood-Schifino: B
Hood-Schifino showed in high school and college that he could be a role player, and that's important here. Still, he's a bit streaky as a scorer and especially as a shooter, which will be important for the Lakers immediately. The long-term play here is a nice player, but is he ready to contribute to a team that expects to be good now?
Maxwell Lewis: A
The Lakers extract excellent value with a second-round steal in Maxwell Lewis, a prospect who we ranked as a first-rounder but slipped to No. 40. He had a huge sophomore season with Pepperdine and projects as a long, rangy wing who can attack and finish while adding shooting range.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: B
With D'Angelo Russell's free agency situation up in the air, the Lakers find something of a doppelgänger in Hood-Schifino. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year is a poised pick-and-roll maestro with excellent vision and passing touch, and his Montverde Academy pedigree shines through in his disciplined defensive fundamentals. JHS has a beautiful pull-up game that currently extends only as far as the midrange. The Lakers have done a great job developing players in the Rob Pelinka era, and if they can get him comfortable from deep, it could open up much more in his game.
Jalen Hood-Schifino: C-
That said, this doesn't feel like the best fit at first glance. LeBron James and Anthony Davis should empower Hood-Schifino as a slasher and secondary creator, but his 3-point consistency tends to waver and he's not the most advanced playmaker of the guards available in this range.
Maxwell Lewis: B+
The Lakers have the opportunity to maximize Maxwell Lewis' talented for spot-up shooting and attacking closeouts. He offers theoretical defensive upside too, but his effort level and consistency wavered too much for a very bad Pepperdine team.
Hood-Schifino and Lewis were only a few spots apart on the FanSided board, making Lewis the naturally more appealing get at No. 40 compared to Hood-Schifino at No. 17, which felt like a reach in the moment.
While there's undeniable upside in a big, herky-jerky scoring guard of Hood-Schifino's nature, his inconsistent 3-point shot, poor finishing at the rim, and lack of defensive discipline make him a strange fit for the win-now Lakers. Especially if Los Angeles opts to bring back most of its guard group.
Lewis was also a fairly undisciplined collegiate defender who was prone to significant lapses in effort at Pepperdine. He won only two conference games in a weak conference, which led to questions about his desire to compete.
That said, Lewis is a physical specimen with real shooting touch and slashing ability on the wing. He's a more seamless immediate fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, well-suited to attacking closeouts and punishing rotating defenders with drives to the cup.
The Lakers were clearly unafraid to take risks on draft night. We won't know if those risks pay off for years to come, but it's safe to say the general consensus from the draft experts is that LA did a fine job.
